Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai just announced a big AI update for YouTube at I/O 2026. The headline? Ask YouTube. It’s a new feature that lets you search for videos by asking questions in plain English, not just typing keywords. You can ask for something specific, even complicated, and get a list of videos—both long-form and Shorts—that actually fit what you want. For creators, there’s Gemini Omni. This lets you edit Shorts by chatting with the tool, right inside YouTube Shorts Remix or the YouTube Create app. No need to mess with complicated editing steps.
Key Takeaways
- Ask YouTube lets you search by asking questions, not just typing keywords. You get clear, organized answers instead of the usual wall of search results.
- With Gemini Omni, you can change up your Shorts using text or images. The tool keeps the background and main characters the same, so your video still makes sense.
- Every video you edit or make with Gemini Omni gets an invisible digital watermark. This helps with tracking and keeps things safer for everyone.
- YouTube is rolling out a tool for creators over 18. It helps you spot and manage AI-made copies of your face or how you look in videos.
Ask YouTube changes how you search. Instead of keywords, you just ask what you want to know. Maybe you want tips for teaching your kid to ride a bike. Or you’re looking for reviews of games to play before bed. The tool pulls up videos that fit, and you can keep asking follow-up questions to get even closer to what you need. Right now, it’s only in the US and only for YouTube Premium users over 18. You’ll find it on the experimental features page.
For conIf you make videos, Gemini Omni Flash is worth a look. It lets you remix Shorts in new ways. According to Demis Hassabis at Google DeepMind, the model can handle text, images, audio, and video all at once. You just pick a Short, type in what you want—like making it look vintage—and the tool does the rest. It changes the visuals and audio for you but keeps the main subject the same.dress copyright and authenticity concerns, Google is applying strict creator controls and tracking mechanisms. Remixed Shorts include digital watermarks, identifying metadata, and direct links back to the original source video. Creators can manually opt out of the visual remix ecosystem if they do not want other users altering their content.
The Gemini Omni feature is rolling out immediately at no extra cost inside the YouTube Shorts Remix tool and the YouTube Create app. Google plans to expand these generation capabilities to its AI Playground platform later this year.
FAQ
Q1. What is the new Ask YouTube feature?
A1. Ask YouTube is an artificial intelligence search tool that allows users to find videos by asking natural, conversational questions. The system returns structured video recommendations and answers follow-up queries to refine the results.
Q2. Who can access the Ask YouTube tool right now?
A2. The feature is available to YouTube Premium subscribers in the US who are 18 years of age or older. Users can opt in by visiting the experimental features hub at youtube.com/new.
Q3. How does Gemini Omni work in YouTube Shorts?
A3. Gemini Omni is a multimodal AI model that lets users remix existing Shorts using text or image prompts. It alters scenes or styles while automatically preserving the character consistency, physics, and context of the original video.
Q4. Can creators protect their videos from being remixed by AI?
A4. Yes. YouTube gives creators full control over their content, including a specific settings option to opt out of visual remixing features entirely.
Q5. How will viewers know if a YouTube Short used AI tools?
A5. Every video edited with the Gemini Omni model automatically receives an embedded SynthID digital watermark and specific metadata identifiers. The remixed video also displays a direct link to the original creator’s video.
